Whither the Emperor Norton Memorabilia in the Wells Fargo Collection?

A Pending Museum Closure Raises an Uneasy Question

THE HISTORY ROOM at Wells Fargo Bank's 30 Montgomery Street branch, in San Francisco, opened to the public in 1935.

Wells Fargo History Room at the 30 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, branch in 1936. The room was established in 1927 and opened to the public in 1935. Photograph: Wells Fargo Corporate Archives. Source: Wells Fargo

The History Room moved to 420 Montgomery in 1962.

In 1978, Wells Fargo created an entire History Department staffed with academically pedigreed historians. One of the first of these was our friend the late Robert J. Chandler (1942–2019) , who was hired by Wells Fargo that year just after he earned his Ph.D. from UC Riverside. Chandler went on to become Senior Research Historian at Wells Fargo, retiring in 2010 after 32 years.

In 1986, Wells Fargo introduced a major expansion of its History Room at 420 Montgomery — now rebranded as the Wells Fargo Museum.

This became the flagship of a 12-museum enterprise.

Wells Fargo Museum, 420 Montgomery Street, San Francisco. The original Wells Fargo History Room moved to this location from 30 Montgomery Street in 1962. The current glass-fronted iteration of the Museum reflects a major expansion and redesign in 1986. Photograph: Todd Johnson. Source: San Francisco Business Times

In light of all this, one can understand why many in San Francisco history circles are wringing their hands over the recent announcement that Wells Fargo is to close its San Francisco museum in early 2025 — 90 years after the opening of its History Room in 1935.

Nortonians have particular reason to be sad, as one could — and still can, for now — pop in to 420 Montgomery on any weekday to view a Charles Murdock-printed bond signed by Emperor Norton in June 1878.

But none of this should be shocking.

In September 2020, Wells Fargo shuttered the other 11 Museums — with a spokesperson saying that "museums do not align with our go-forward strategy as a company."

It was only a matter of time before the 420 Montgomery domino fell as well.

Indeed, from a hard-nosed financial perspective, offering a double-height, no-charge museum in prime street-level Montgomery Street real estate for 60 years is, well…madness.

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OVERLOOKED in the early "pre-post-mortems": What is on public display at the Wells Fargo Museum represents only a fraction of what is in the larger Wells Fargo collection — a collection that includes not only corporate documents but also artifacts and ephemera more broadly related to 19th-century San Francisco and California and the United States.

Since the items on display in the Museum are part of the Wells Fargo collection, the closure of the Museum does not necessarily have any implications for these items — other than to necessitate that they be placed in storage or displayed elsewhere.

But, the closure could be an opportunity for Wells Fargo to engage a different question: what of its collection to keep and what to relinquish.

It stands to reason that Wells Fargo will hold on to everything that is directly related to its corporate history. If so, there will continue to be a need for Wells Fargo historians and archivists to maintain and explain the Wells Fargo collection — including as public liaisons to scholars and researchers whose interests overlap with Wells Fargo history.

One possible opportunity identified by historical institutions, like the California Historical Society, who find themselves no longer able to maintain bricks-and-mortar museums, exhibit spaces, and research centers is to lean in to digitization and public archiving — so as to preserve and expand public access to their collections, whether for free or for fee.

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OF COURSE, the immediate concern for those of us who are stewards of the Emperor Norton story is:

What is to become of Wells Fargo's Norton memorabilia — items that were donated to Wells Fargo decades, even generations, ago but that don't have a direct connection to the bank?

For many years, one of the Emperor's signed promissory notes has been on display in a glass case at the Wells Fargo Museum, together with a small scrap of paper signed by the Emp.

I believe Wells Fargo also has at least one or two additional Norton notes in its collection.

Emperor Norton promissory note signed 12 June 1878. This is the note that has been on display in the Wells Fargo Museum in San Francisco for many years. Collection of the Wells Fargo Museum. Photograph: Wells Fargo Archives. Source: Wells Fargo (Facebook)

Wells Fargo has used Emperor Norton in its advertising. The bank may decide that this is sufficient warrant to keep its Norton notes. Certainly, the notes don't take up much space.

Unfortunately, absent an exhibition space, Wells Fargo's keeping the notes could be tantamount to putting them on ice.

Wells Fargo has kept these items in its care for decades, even generations — and the bank has our gratitude for this.

But, in order to preserve and even increase access to these Norton artifacts by researchers and the public, Wells Fargo now should donate them to one or more San Francisco institutions that has the collection, archiving, and presentation of San Francisco historical resources for research and educational purposes as its public mission.

Indeed, when Wells Fargo closed its other Museums in September 2020, the bank ultimately donated significant portions of those collections to local institutions — museums; historical societies — with compatible history-focused missions.

One question to ask is: Which San Francisco institutions of that kind are in the best position to receive and be long-term stewards of historical artifacts that Wells Fargo might wish to relinquish?

The California Historical Society has a number of the Emperor’s promissory notes in its collection — which would seem to make CHS an obvious home for additional notes. But, the Society’s San Francisco galleries and North Baker Research Library have been closed and in limbo for 15 months. The Society is not receiving donations to its Collection and apparently has no near-term plan to reopen — making it difficult to recommend CHS as a future repository for notes in the Wells Fargo collection.

Given these circumstances, it would be preferable for Wells Fargo to donate its Norton notes and other Emperor-related ephemera to the San Francisco History Center at the San Francisco Public Library — an institution that

(1) has deep experience in the conservation of ephemera;

(2) has the physical capacity to make these Norton artifacts available for inspection by researchers and for occasional exhibition viewing by the public; and

(3) already has significant Norton-related items in its collection.

Wells Fargo also has an extremely rare hand-painted example of an 1877 statuette of Emperor Norton. The Emperor himself had one of these in his room at the Eureka Lodgings on Commercial Street — in light which: It would be fitting for Wells Fargo to donate this statuette to the San Francisco Historical Society, which has museum space at its digs just down the block from the former site of the Eureka.

Emperor Norton statuette, 1877, by Herman J. Brand (1837–1914). Plaster, 22” x 7” x 7”. Collection of the Wells Fargo Museum. Photograph courtesy of Wells Fargo.

It is notoriously difficult to keep track of even the small amount of extant Norton-related artifacts from Norton’s lifetime that are in institutional collections or in private hands — including promissory notes signed by the Emperor; letters and notes in the Emperor’s hand; cabinet cards and cartes de visite; and tributes like the statuette above.

Especially once an item like this finds its way to the auction market, the provenance and ownership trail tends to go cold — becoming “inside info” known primarily by collectors, dealers, and auction houses.

If Wells Fargo does decide to relinquish its Norton artifacts, whether by donating them or selling them, I hope the dispensation is a matter of record — so that information about these items doesn't get orphaned and the items themselves effectively "disappeared."

Stay tuned.

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